Man Fakes 5-Year-Old's Kidnapping So He Can Get His Stolen Car Back

Amber Alerts have saved thousands of children's lives, but for one man, it was all about saving his SUV. William Edward Johnson Jr. of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, was arrested after an Amber Alert was issued for his 5-year-old nephew, who he said was in the back seat of his car, which had been stolen from a gas station. But you won't believe what happened after cops began looking into the supposed "kidnapping."

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Johnson told police that his Chevrolet Suburban had been stolen from a gas station. He added that his young nephew had been in the back seat at the time. An Amber Alert was issued.

But after speaking with the boy's aunt, police were informed the kid was home safe with his mom. Whaa?? Why would anyone say his nephew had been kidnapped if he hadn't?

Police Sgt. John Adams told Newson6.com:

He felt that we would spend more time looking for his vehicle if we thought there was a child in it.

Ugh, well, of course! The Amber Alert was cancelled, and 20 minutes later, Johnson was arrested. Meanwhile, the men who stole his truck are still at large.

Because authorities thought there was a child involved, there were 60 cops, 5 law enforcement agencies, and a helicopter involved in trying to find Johnson's SUV. Eventually the abandoned SUV was recovered.

Johnson sounds like a guy who thinks he and anything he wants should be top priority to everyone. Obviously he didn't consider the wasted manpower that could have gone into solving more urgent crimes while half the state was looking for his car. Or maybe he did but didn't care.

Not only did Johnson waste taxpayer money, police time, and make light of the very serious crime of kidnapping, he disrupted the sleep of those who get Amber Alerts! Blasted one reader on a story about Johnson's ruse:

This guy has a massive ego and hopefully he has to pay back the taxpayer dollars he wasted. And let's not forget the precious sleep of random people with Amber Alerts. That's gotta be some kind of crime too!